PennyMac Exceeds Expectations in Fourth Quarter

PennyMac Financial Services Inc. beat Wall Street estimates on earnings and matched on revenue for the fourth quarter.The Westlake Village mortgage lender reported on Thursday net income of $453 million ($5.97 a share) for the quarter ending Dec. 31, compared with net income of $153 million ($1.88) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased 104 percent to $1 billion.Analysts on average expected earnings of $5.92 on revenue of $1 billion, according to Thomson Financial Network.Chief Executive David Spector said the quarter and the year was exceptionally good for the company, which ended the year with a servicing portfolio of nearly 2 million customers.It also successfully protected its asset value as a disciplined hedging and risk management strategy largely offset the $1 billion write-down on fair value of the mortgage servicing rights, Spector said.“This was all done while the vast majority of our employees were working from home for most of the year,” he added in a statement. “I am incredibly thankful and proud of the over 6,000 PennyMac employees who managed through the challenges of the pandemic to deliver extraordinary results.”Shares of PennyMac Financial (PFSI) closed Thursday up $1.38, or just more than 2 percent, to $64.15 on the New York Stock Exchange.